


In Between

by krabapple



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-10
Updated: 2011-12-10
Packaged: 2017-10-27 03:45:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/291282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krabapple/pseuds/krabapple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Doctor," Jack tried again. "What is this, 'My Littlest Companion'?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Between

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for series two, all the way through _Doomsday_. Post-Doomsday setting.

The TARDIS landed, as was its wont, directly next to the dumpster behind an Indian restaurant in London.

Jack was the first one out the door, though he didn't get very far before encountering the dumpster. "Doctor, you might want to rotate that thing about ninety degrees," he called.

"Eh," the Doctor said, coming out of the TARDIS and scratching the back of his head. "We managed to get out, didn't we?"

"I'm not sure that should be your criteria for a good landing, Doctor," Jack replied.

"Are we all in one piece?" the Doctor asked. Jack nodded. "So what's your point?" the Doctor grinned.

Jack smiled in spite of himself and looked up, walking out of the alley they were in. "Where are we, exactly?"

"Exactly? Behind what I can only guess is an Indian restaurant," the Doctor said. "More to your point, it looks like London."

"London? Aren't we supposed to be on Gredina?"

"London, Gredina . . . same difference. Well, in the sense that there's oxygen on both planets."

"London." Jack shook his head. "I should be glad it's not Cardiff, I suppose."

The Doctor and Jack emerged on a quiet urban street, bustling in early morning traffic.

"Except . . ." the Doctor started.

"What?"

The Doctor was looking up. "There aren't still Zeppelins in the London I know."

Jack looked up as well, seeing a London morning sky littered with Zeppelins. "Ah. Okay, then," he said.

The Doctor's face became pinched, and he started crossing the street, leaving Jack behind on the sidewalk.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor stopped directly across the street, in front of a lamp post. "I'll be damned," he said. "Well, more so than usual, anyway." He was regarding the lamp post with great scrutiny, taking the specs out of his left breast pocket and putting them on. He also retrieved the sonic screwdriver, and Jack heard the small motor whir as the tip lit up with blue light.

"It's a lamp post," Jack said.

"It looks like a lamp post," the Doctor corrected.

"So what it is?"

"Temporal breach."

"A rift? Like in Cardiff?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, a breach. An opening between two dimensions. The TARDIS must have been drawn through it."

"I thought those were impossible," Jack said.

"They are," the Doctor said. "They were. I haven't seen one since –" he stopped.

Jack's face took on a knowing look. "Doctor –"

The Doctor tore his gaze away from the lamp post and looked up again. "Zeppelins."

"Doctor – you don't know what world this is."

"I can find out." The Doctor's voice was soft.

"No, you can't."

The Doctor looked at Jack sharply.

"I mean, you don't know what world this is. Or when it is. You don't know that this is." Jack paused. "You don't know that this is Rose's world," he finished. They never spoke about Rose, not about their time with her, not about their adventures; they never even said her name. The Doctor visibly flinched when Jack said it now.

"I can find out," the Doctor said again.

"No," Jack said.

The Doctor looked ready to argue, but Jack spoke up again. "No, Doctor, you can't. Even if this is her world, you can't go messing around in it. You don't know what's happened since she came here. And if it's not her world, that only makes it even _more_ dangerous. You can't follow the breadcrumbs here, Doctor," Jack finished.

The Doctor looked up again, studying the sky.

"Besides, we have a bigger problem, and you know it," Jack said.

The Doctor's gaze came down again, focusing on Jack. "There's a breach here that shouldn't be. We have to find out how it got here, and how to close it."

Jack raised his eyebrows.

"I got it, Jack."

"You're sure?"

"No breadcrumbs, no gingerbread house," the Doctor said.

Jack blew out a breath, but he didn't seem convinced. "So where do we start?" he asked.

"I'm going to start by asking some people who would have absolutely nothing to hide. You see what you can get from the TARDIS."

"Where are you going to go?"

The Doctor nodded his head back across the street, pointing at a building that could only be a primary school.

Jack shook his head. "Oh, Doctor."

"Children have nothing to hide. And they pay more attention than the adults think," the Doctor said.

"You can't just walk into a school and expect to talk to the children."

"Jack, ye of little faith. _Someone_ has to be out sick today. I'm sure there's some kind of substitute on the way." The Doctor suddenly grinned.

"Those poor kids," Jack said.

"Meet me after school," the Doctor said, starting to cross the street again.

"Right," Jack said. "Right." He shook his head, put his hands in the pockets of his jacket, and started back toward the TARDIS.

***

As it turned out, there _was_ a substitute on the way, for Mrs. Fitzgerald's class, but after some double talk and a lot of flirting with the secretary, the Doctor managed to convince her that there had been a mix up and he was the teacher the agency had sent over. This got a bit more complicated when the actual substitute showed up, but the Doctor found that a few well placed pounds (which he didn't even know he had on him, actually) sent her merrily on her way to the coffee shop across the street.

All in all, the Doctor was feeling quite proud of himself by the time he reached Mrs. Fitzgerald's classroom. However, once faced with twenty five eight-year-olds looking at him expectantly, that feeling burst like the proverbial bubble.

The Doctor leaned against the front of the teacher's desk, hands in the pockets of his suit and feet crossed in front of him. "So . . ." he started. "I'm Mr. Smith. It's nice to meet you."

Fifty eyes stared back at him.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Well, er. We might as well get to know each other, right?" A kid coughed in the back of the class, but otherwise it was silent. "Right," the Doctor repeated.

"So, um. Has anyone noticed anything new going on lately? Anything unusual? Anything you might want to ask about?"

A girl with a gigantic blue bow in her hair in the front row raised her hand.

"Ah, yes. You there. With the bow," the Doctor acknowledged.

"My mum's been asking my dad silly questions about his friend Eileen," she said.

"What kind of questions?"

"Like why he's been spending the night at her house."

The Doctor paused. "You might want to ask your mum about that," he said. He bobbed his head from side to side. "Possibly your dad. Not Eileen, though. Anyone else?"

A small boy in the back raised his hand. "Okay, you," the Doctor said.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

The Doctor's nose wrinkled. "Is that really a question?"

The boy turned green.

"You know what? I think you should go ahead and go to the nurse's office," the Doctor said. "That's what you all do, isn't it?" The boy nodded. "Yeah, you go do that." The boy covered his mouth and ran, and some of the class giggled.

"Well." The Doctor sighed. "Anyone else? Anyone?"

A brown haired boy in square, wire rimmed specs in the second row raised his hand.

"Okay. Hi. There. You. What's your news?" The Doctor said.

The boy lowered his hand. "I think our teacher's an alien," he said. The rest of the children laughed.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Well, now we're getting somewhere," he said. "What's your name?"

"John."

"Nice to meet you, John. Now, what makes you think that about your teacher?" The Doctor leaned forward eagerly, and John smiled.

***

Jack walked up to the school after dismissal time to find the Doctor and a small boy sitting on the front steps, both licking vanilla ice cream cones.

"Vanilla is underrated as a flavor," the Doctor greeted Jack.

Jack raised his eyebrows. "I like Neapolitan ice cream, myself," Jack said.

"You would," the Doctor answered. He grinned.

The boy piped up at that point. "Hi. My name's John," he said.

Jack looked down. "Hi, John. Er. Doctor?"

"That's Jack," the Doctor indicated Jack with his ice cream cone.

"Hi, Jack."

"Doctor? Did you, er." Jack paused, and then seemed to give up. "Doctor, can I ask why you're sitting here with a seven year old?"

"I'm eight," John said.

"My mistake," Jack answered.

"I told you, vanilla is underrated as a flavor. It's actually quite good."

"Doctor –"

"John here thinks his teacher is an alien, don't you John?"

"Yep." John took a bite out of his cone.

"And we're now taking the word of an eight year old child for that?" Jack asked.

"Tell Jack why you think Mrs. Fitzgerald's an alien," the Doctor nudged John.

John got a very thoughtful look on his face, and Jack was suddenly struck by how much older the boy looked while he was thinking. "Well," John started slowly. "I just kind of know . . . like, I tend to know lots of things about people that they never say. Like how sad he is." John indicated the Doctor. "Or how scared you are." John looked up at Jack, and Jack looked at the Doctor, who was regarding Jack very seriously.

"But, like. I don't know, she kind of smells. Like the guy down the street who has no teeth. And she burps. A lot. Even when she hasn't had anything to eat."

"Yeah, that's really alien behavior," Jack said sarcastically. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't know. Sounds like some aliens we've encountered before," the Doctor said. "I think you'd remember Margaret."

Comprehension dawned on Jack's face. "You don't think?"

"I'm not sure what to think yet," the Doctor said. "What's the TARDIS telling you?"

"Not a lot. But what she is saying, you might want to come see for yourself," Jack said.

"Right." To Jack's surprise, the Doctor turned to John. "You want to come see my house?" he said.

"Doctor," Jack warned.

The Doctor mostly ignored him, waving a hand in his direction to dismiss whatever Jack was going to say.

"Doctor," Jack tried again. "What is this, 'My Littlest Companion'?"

"Really?" John asked the Doctor.

"Really," the Doctor said.

They both stood up at the same time and grinned, and Jack had the strangest feeling of deja vu.

"Come on," the Doctor said, leading the way across the street. John scampered after him, and Jack brought up the rear, shrugging.

***

"It's a box," John said.

"A blue box," the Doctor added.

"A big blue box," Jack finished.

The Doctor looked at him. "You _would_ have to emphasize how big it is," he said.

Jack grinned.

The Doctor got out his key, and unlocked the door. "Welcome to the TARDIS, John," he said.

The boy stepped into the TARDIS, with the Doctor and Jack following. Jack nearly tripped over John as he had stopped dead and was stock still almost directly in front of the front doors.

"Right," the Doctor said. "Where do you want to start?"

"Um. The inside's bigger than the outside," John said.

"Yes."

"It's . . . alien."

"Yes."

John looked up at the Doctor. "Are you alien?"

"Yes." The Doctor paused. "Is that all right?"

John kept looking at the Doctor, and smiled. "Yeah."

The Doctor smiled back.

John bounded up the steps to the control board, surveying the various buttons and levers. "Does this travel in space?" he asked.

"And time," the Doctor said.

John turned wide eyes on him. "No way."

"Yes, way," the Doctor answered.

John pointed to a particularly large button. "What does this one do?"

"That's a thermal dedicated thruster."

"Does that mean it keeps the ship on course even if it's bombarded by alpha rays from anti-gravity stars?" John asked.

The Doctor and Jack stared. "Yes," the Doctor managed.

John blushed under their stares. "I'm really good at math. And science," he added.

"Yeah," Jack said. "Listen, John." John looked up from where he was carefully fiddling with one of the brake levers.

"It's just that . . . well. I'm sure you're a great kid and that you are always honest with your parents," Jack continued.

"I don't have a dad. But I try to tell my mum everything," John said, with the honesty only a young child could have. The Doctor beamed.

Jack continued. "Well, your mum. I'm sure she's very nice –"

"She's awesome," Jack said.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure she's awesome, but, well, you might not want to tell her about this. Er, not right way, at least." Jack looked at the Doctor.

The Doctor knelt down on John's level, so he could look him in the eye. "Jack's right, John. Not everyone would understand about me being an alien, or about the ship. Maybe not even your mum."

To the Doctor and Jack's surprise, John grinned. "Well, my mum works for Torchwood. I bet _she'd_ understand."

Jack groaned and caught the Doctor's eye. "You just _had_ to pick the one who has a mother at Torchwood."

The Doctor shrugged, then grinned.

Jack rolled his eyes.

***

After an hour's worth of conversation about astrophysics with the Doctor that not even Jack could follow, John left the TARDIS to meet his Uncle Jake for the skateboarding lesson they always had on Wednesday afternoons. Once John was gone, leaving his address scribbled on a piece of paper for the Doctor, Jack showed the Doctor the readouts from the TARDIS' main computer.

The Doctor frowned. "This would indicate that the breach has only been there for a few days."

"We probably got drawn in on the last of the after burn," Jack agreed.

The Doctor considered. "So how did it get there?"

Jack shrugged. "It doesn't look like a natural phenomenon," he said.

"So someone opened a hole on purpose," the Doctor surmised. "But why?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Jack said. "But I doubt it's for any show of good will."

"Has the temperature here increased yet?"

"There's been a heat wave reported over the past week, but no one has really noticed anything yet."

"They will," the Doctor said.

"Probably right before their world incinerates itself," Jack agreed.

"I want to take a closer look at that breach," the Doctor said, opening the door of the TARDIS and strolling out into the dusk, Jack following. He was almost to the curb when he stopped abruptly, causing Jack to run up against his back.

"What the –" Jack started.

"Someone's beat us to it," the Doctor said grimly, nodding in the direction of the lamp post.

To the casual observer, the scene would have been nothing special. There were two men in light grey suits standing around the post, as casually as if they were waiting for a bus. But the Doctor noticed their ear pieces, the way their eyes darted to and fro, as if watching for something, or someone.

"Torchwood," Jack said.

"Torchwood," the Doctor confirmed. "Looks like they're waiting for high command."

"Looks like it's coming," Jack tilted his head to the right.

Sure enough, there was a woman in a smart navy suit approaching the scene. For a while, Jack and the Doctor could only see her from the back: suit, hose, heels. Blond hair pulled conservatively back in a bun that had wisps of unruly strands leaking out of it.

Then she turned so that the Doctor and Jack could see her face, and the Doctor gasped.

Rose.

Jack's fingers tightened around the Doctor's arm almost at once.

"Doctor –"

The Doctor had already started forward. Jack jerked him back. The Doctor freed his arm from Jack's grip and glared at him.

"Doctor. You _can't_."

The Doctor continued to glare.

"Even if it's yo – even it it's the Rose you knew, we knew, you can't. It's not fair. And there's no way to know that it _is_ that Rose. That could be any of a dozen other Roses, from a dozen other Londons."

"Gingerbread house. Right," the Doctor said. But his eyes went right back to Rose.

Rose, who was examining the lamp post and talking with the two men around it. She was speaking quietly, but her voice still floated across the way, and it sounded the same as it had nine years ago, when the Doctor had last seen her, or at least a version of her.

" . . . breach . . ." Rose could be heard. "Dimensional distortion . . . ." The men around Rose nodded.

"You wanted me to find _you_ ," the Doctor gritted out at Jack.

"That's different," Jack answered. His own gaze was still as focused on Rose as the Doctor's was, and there was no mistaking the pain in his eyes, either.

"How?"

"You're not in love with me," Jack said bluntly.

Silence descended deeply and uncomfortably as the two men watched Rose finish her examination and then leave the scene, the two other Torchwood officers following after a discreet amount of time.

Night fell around them, and the Doctor didn't even notice.

***

"I don't see how dragging that kid back into this is going to help," Jack said as he and the Doctor walked down the street. The Doctor had been grim ever since he'd seen Rose, or at least a Rose, and his pace was hard to keep up with, even for Jack. His hands were buried deep in the pockets of his coat, though that didn't disguise the fact that they were balled into fists, the coat billowing out behind him as he very nearly paced down the London street.

"I think he's right about that teacher," the Doctor answered shortly.

"So then we track down that teacher. It wouldn't be hard to hack into the school's computer systems and find her address," Jack said.

The Doctor shook his head.

"Then we break into Torchwood, see what they know, get out before we get caught."

"No."

"So what? We find some eight year old kid and ask him if, hey, does he have any ideas how to close a dimensional breach in the middle of London by any chance?"

"Yes."

Jack was about to reply when the Doctor stopped suddenly, and looked up at a house sitting in front of them on a hill.

"I know this house," the Doctor said.

Jack shook his head. "Doctor –"

" _I know this house_ ," the Doctor repeated, taking off at a run up the hill. Jack had no choice but to follow, catching up just as the Doctor skidded to a halt at the front door. Before Jack could stop him, the Doctor rang the doorbell.

After a few moments, there was the sound of a woman's voice approaching. Her words became clear just as the handle on the door rattled under her hand. "I swear, Pete, if this is those delivery men again with that dining room set, they can just –" the door swung open, and the woman stopped abruptly.

"Jackie Tyler," the Doctor said.

Jack looked from the woman to the Doctor, and back. The woman looked absolutely dumbstruck. "Jackie Tyler?" Jack asked. "As in Rose Tyler?"

Suddenly the woman lurched forward, and Jack took an involuntary step back, as if she was going to hit him, or the Doctor. But instead, Jackie took the Doctor's face in her hands and started kissing his cheeks over and over. To Jack's surprise, the Doctor took this in stride, not saying a word, not making a face, only closing his eyes.

"Jacks, you're not hurting anyone out there, are you?" A red-haired man, balding, appeared in the large doorway next to Jackie. He was smiling when he first arrived, but the smile soon faded when he saw Jackie and who she was currently attached to at the lips.

Jackie let go of the Doctor and turned to Pete Tyler. "Do you see Pete? Look who it is."

Pete looked at the Doctor gravely. "Is it you?"

"It's me."

"The Doctor from . . . the Doctor we know."

"Yes."

"How?"

"There's a dimensional disturbance down the street. I don't know how it got there or why it's there. The TARDIS got caught in the back draft." The Doctor's tone and face were just as serious as Pete Tyler's.

"Pete, we can't just stand here and interrogate the man," Jackie admonished.

"Of course not. We can bring him inside and then interrogate him," Pete said, ushering both Jack and the Doctor into the entryway. He turned to Jack. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jack."

"Oh, Captain Jack! We've heard so much about you!" Jackie said.

"Jackie . . ." Pete started.

Jackie raised her eyebrows, and Jack suddenly realized where Rose's formidable stubbornness had come from. "Pete. These men are guests in our home. We are going to treat them accordingly." Her arm was linked with the Doctor's.

Pete's voice lowered. "It's more complicated than that, and you know it."

"Then we'll meet that when the time comes," Jackie said briskly. "For now, I think we could all use a good cup of tea," she finished, leading the way past the stairs into the kitchen.

The group gathered around the kitchen, the Doctor strangely sober as Jackie puttered around, putting on a kettle and taking out mugs and other things for tea.

"Rose isn't here," Pete said bluntly into the silence.

"So we noticed," Jack replied, earning a long, measuring look from Pete.

"I'm sorry we don't have any dinner yet – Rose usually cooks when she gets home," Jackie apologized.

"Rose cooks?" Jack asked, attempting to smother his amusement until he caught Jackie's eye.

"I didn't say she did it –" Jackie started.

"Well," Pete finished.

"Now, Pete –"

"Her cooking is better than yours," Pete acknowledged.

"Oi! You're lucky I don't –" Jackie stopped as the back door that lead to the kitchen opened.

"Don't do what?" Mickey asked, stepping into the room. The Doctor turned around and smiled for the first time in several minutes. He did not, however, speak.

"Nothing," Jackie said, as Mickey took in the Doctor and Jack's presence.

Mickey pointed. "Is that?"

"In the flesh, Ricky," the Doctor said.

"Well, now I know it's you," Mickey said, though he smiled, and, to Jack's surprise, came over and hugged the Doctor. The Doctor rolled his eyes and looked put out, but Jack knew it was as much of an act as the Doctor could muster.

Jack, though, didn't miss the look that passed between Mickey, Jackie and Pete.

Finally, Jackie broke the short silence. "Where's John?" she asked Mickey.

"He's outside, parking the jeep with Jake," Mickey replied.

"You're not letting him drive again, are you?" Jackie asked, hands on her hips.

"Of course not, Jackie," Mickey said. "Jake's letting him drive."

"You told me –" Jackie started, and Mickey held up his hands in defeat.

Before Mickey could answer, though, the Doctor spoke. "John. John's – well, John is why we're here."

All eyes turned on him, and Jackie's face went ghost white under his gaze.

"What about John?" Pete asked casually – too casually for Jack's taste.

"We met John today, Jack and I. He thinks his teacher's an alien," the Doctor said, and Mickey smiled fondly. "We came here looking for him, hoping he could help us with the dimensional breach. I didn't realize the address he gave us was this house until we got here."

The Doctor smiled, and everyone in the room seemed to relax. "You must be very proud of your son," he said.

"Our son?" Jackie asked, and Pete shot her a look. "Of course we're proud of him," Jackie said hastily.

"He's quite advanced," the Doctor said. "Remarkable, really." He paused. "Though Rose always was, so I'm not sure why I'm that surprised," he added softly.

As if on cue, the back door banged open again and John burst through. "Jake let me drive the jeep again. Well, not really. We sort of just parked it. But I got to take the wheel, and I didn't run into anything!" he exclaimed in a rush, stopping with a skid in front of the counter where the Doctor was leaning, Jake following in through the door.

"Doctor!" John said. "You're here!"

The Doctor managed a smile. "We are! We came for your help, actually."

John looked ready to burst. "Did you hear that, Granddad? The Doctor wants me to help him. Is it about that dimensional breach? Because I've been thinking about Mrs. Fitzgerald, and I'm pretty sure they're related."

"Granddad?" Jack echoed, eyebrows raised, as Pete found himself on the end of both the Doctor's serious, level gaze and John's excited one.

Pete spoke to John first. "Of course I heard that – it's very exciting, John." He paused. "You know, we're actually all old friends of the Doctor's."

"No way!"

"Way," Pete smiled, putting a hand on John's shoulder.

"Even Mum?" John asked.

"Especially Mum," Pete said.

"Wicked cool!" John proclaimed, though the Doctor's eyes never left Pete.

Pete smiled. "It is. But speaking of your mum, you'd better go upstairs and get washed up before she gets home – and she'll be home any minute."

John looked in the Doctor's direction, clearly reluctant to leave.

"We'll still be here when you get back," Jack said. The Doctor nodded.

"Okay," John said. "If you promise."

"I promise," the Doctor said.

John grinned and left the room, bounding up the stairs so fast his footsteps could be heard pounding above the kitchen.

Those footsteps were the only sound heard in the kitchen for what seemed like an eternity.

"Granddad?" the Doctor said.

"I don't think that's much of a surprise to you," Pete replied, pouring a cup of tea from Jackie's kettle.

"I suppose not," the Doctor agreed. "Except that it is. Rose made sure of that."

"Now –" Jackie started, but the look on the Doctor's face stopped her, and the room lapsed into silence again. Even Jack looked thoughtful.

So when the back door opened once more, Jackie jumped at the noise.

"Sorry I'm late. Traffic was a nightmare. And you wouldn't believe the mess we've got down on tenth street –" Rose stopped dead two steps into the kitchen. Her face went pink. "I brought take away," she finished. Mickey gently took the bag of food out of her increasingly limp fingers.

"Jack," Rose said.

"Rose."

Rose visibly swallowed. "Doctor," she managed.

The Doctor didn't say anything.

Jackie started to move to Rose's side, but she shook her head, and Jackie stepped back slightly.

"How much do you know?" Rose asked.

"That you lied to me," the Doctor said, eyes dark. He looked around at the rest of the group. "Now would be a good time for all of you to find excuses to leave the room."

They did, and within minutes the Doctor and Rose were standing alone in the Tyler's kitchen.

***

"Nine years, and that's the first thing you can say to me," Rose said.

The Doctor swallowed. "John isn't your brother."

"No."

"He's your son."

"Yes."

"He's my son."

"Yes," Rose answered.

The Doctor closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Rose saw a sorrow in them she hadn't seen in years, not since before they were separated. "Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"I almost told you."

"Almost doesn't count, Rose."

"And you almost told me you –" Rose broke off. "People who live in glass houses, Doctor." She took a deep breath, and softened. "What good would it have done? I . . . it only would have tortured you. There's nothing you could have done."

"When did you get to be so sensible?"

Rose shrugged. "I was always the sensible one."

"Not that I recall."

Rose lifted a shoulder again, and gazed at the floor. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, biting her lip.

"The TARDIS got caught in the last of the breach. I taught John's class today; that's how I met him." The Doctor answered Rose's unasked question. "He gave us his address, and Jack and I came up here to see if he had any more information. I didn't know. I didn't know the house until I got here. And then I thought. Well. You know what I thought."

Rose nodded. "I never expected to see you again."

"I never thought I'd be back," the Doctor answered.

They looked at each other, but neither one said a word.

Finally, the Doctor said, "Does he know about me?"

Rose shook her head. "He knows that his dad is a traveler, that he can't be with us for an important reason, one I said I'd tell him when he's older. But other than that –"

"So, no."

"No." Rose paused. "But he is so like you." She shook her head, but laughed, even more hair coming out of her bun. "He reads constantly. He knows things about astronomy and physics and biology and chemistry and animals – things no one else knows. I can't keep up with him. He's brilliant. And I can't look at him, not ever, and not see you." Her smile was a bit sad, but very proud.

A smile started to ghost around the Doctor's mouth. "It looks good on you, you know," he said softly.

"What?"

"This." The Doctor nodded at her. "Being a mum."

Rose shook her head again. "I certainly didn't plan it."

"Still," the Doctor said.

Rose met his gaze. "I'm so sorry," she said.

"I know," he said. "I am, too."

The Doctor moved from where he was leaning behind the counter to where he could come face to face with Rose.

"Doctor –" Rose started.

The Doctor shook his head. "Rose Tyler," he said, and opened his arms to Rose, who entered into the hug gladly, and gratefully.

***

By the time the family was ready to eat, the take away Rose had brought home was cold, so they ordered pizza and ate in the living room in front of a fire.

"And your mum was hanging from this barrage balloon in the middle of a London blitz," Jack said.

"Jack," Rose warned.

"Really?" John asked.

"Really. And I caught her in the tractor beam from my invisible space ship, and rescued her."

"Cool!" John exclaimed.

The Doctor grunted from where he was sitting, arms crossed over his chest. "Yeah, really cool. Fancy invisible ship. Hanging in the air in the middle of a war bombing. Very cool, the two of you."

"You're just still mad that I wandered off," Rose said.

"I always tell them never to wander off," the Doctor said to John, who laughed.

"Mad about that, and the fact that I'm the cute one," Jack grinned, causing John to laugh even harder. Mickey laughed, too, which he strangled off when the Doctor cut a look his way.

Rose reached over and patted her son on the knee. "And on that note, it's way past someone's bedtime."

"Aw, Mum –"

"Don't 'aw, mum' me," Rose said. "You should have been in bed two hours ago, and you still have school tomorrow."

John looked on the verge of arguing until the Doctor said, "Don't worry, you'll see us tomorrow. I fancy meeting that teacher of yours, anyway."

John looked slightly mollified, and got up and gave his grandparents good night hugs, and a high-five each to Mickey and Jake.

"I'll be up to tuck you in and say goodnight once you have your pajamas on," Rose called after John as he left the room. "And brush your teeth!"

"We'd best be getting on, too," Jake said, standing. "This one gets cranky if he stays up too late."

"Oi!" Mickey protested, to the laughter of the others.

"Come on you," Jake said, pulling Mickey with him. The rest of the party heard the front door close moments later.

"So, Mickey," Jack said. "Jake. Good for him."

"Indeed," Pete answered, smiling. "You know you two are welcome to stay for the night," he said.

"There are plenty of rooms," Jackie added. "We can set you boys right up. No trouble at all."

The Doctor and Jack exchanged a look. "That's very kind, but if it's all the same to you, I think we'd rather go back to the TARDIS," the Doctor said.

"Never did want to stay in my house, that one," Jackie said, though she smiled as she said it.

"Well, if you change your mind, you know where we live," Pete said, pulling Jackie up with him.

"Night, love," Jackie said, kissing Rose on the cheek as she left. She kissed the Doctor on the cheek, too, causing him to roll his eyes slightly.

Jack, the Doctor and Rose stood up, Rose nodding in the direction of the stairs. "I'm going to go up, have a talk with my boy."

"Do you want me to come?" the Doctor asked, but Rose shook her head.

"I think he's going to want to hear it from me," she said. "But you two will be round for breakfast, yeah?"

"Of course," the Doctor answered, and Jack nodded, giving Rose a hug.

"Wouldn't miss it," Jack said, pulling away.

"Good. Mum's doing the cooking," Rose said, laughing. She walked them back to the front door.

"There's an incentive," the Doctor said.

"Good night," Rose opened the door.

"Good night, Rose Tyler," the Doctor said as Rose let them out into the cool night air.

***

John was already in bed by the time Rose got to his room, though he was still up, reading by the light of his bedside lamp. Rose sat down on the bed next to his legs in her jeans and sweatshirt. John put his book down as she sat, though he left his glasses on.

"I expect you have some questions for me," Rose started.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about traveling with the Doctor?" John asked. "Did you think I would think you'd made it up?"

Rose shook her head. "No. I just missed him too much to talk about it," she said honestly. "The Doctor and I . . . when we got separated, when I came to this world . . . I hadn't meant for that to happen. I was very sad about it. I didn't think I'd ever see him again."

"You loved him a lot, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did."

"He loves you, you know."

"I know," Rose said.

"I know because . . . well, I know. Like I always do. It's like – all that's in his mind when he's around you."

Rose took John's hand in her own. "How do you feel about that?"

John was silent for a long time. "He's my dad, isn't he?" he whispered.

Rose nodded. "Yeah. He's your dad."

John looked down at the bedspread. "He didn't mean to leave us, did he?"

Rose cupped her son's cheek. "No, sweetheart, he didn't."

"If he's an alien, that means . . . that means I'm an alien, too."

Rose nodded. "I know that's really weird."

John looked up. "It's _so_ weird, Mum," he said. But then he shrugged. "I've always been kind of different, though, so I guess." He shrugged again.

"The Doctor's kind of different, too, you know," Rose said. "You're a lot like him, in all the best ways." She paused. "Are you okay?"

John bobbed his head from side to side. "Mostly okay. Not all the way okay."

"It's all right not to be all the way okay," Rose said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Rose swept some of John's fringe off his face. "Will you be able to get some sleep?"

John nodded. Rose leaned forward, and kissed him on the forehead.

"You're a good kid, John," she said. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Mum," John said, settling deeper into the pillows.

Rose stood and went to the door, her hand on the light switch when John said, "You still love him, too, don't you?"

"I do. You and him both. Now sleep," Rose said, blowing a kiss from the doorway, and turning out the light.

***

After a fortifying breakfast of Jackie's eggs, toast and tea, the Doctor, Rose, Jack and John walked up the steps of John's school, determined and battle ready.

"Okay, so here's the plan," the Doctor said, rubbing his hands together.

"Oh, look, the man has a plan this time," Jack said, causing Rose to bite her lip to hold back laughter.

The Doctor merely glared at him. "Are you finished?"

"Quite," Jack replied.

"Fine. Jack, you're on perimeter duty, guarding the exits and making sure we have a way out, but that no one else does."

"Aye, aye." Jack saluted.

"Rose, you go to the main office and chat people up. See if you can find out any useful information."

"Right," Rose said.

"John, you're with me. We're going to go see if we can have a chat with that Mrs. Fitzgerald of yours."

John beamed, though Rose looked as though she was about to object. She caught the Doctor's eye, however, and subsided.

"Okay, team. We ready to go?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh! Wait a second," Rose said, fishing with one hand into her coat pocket. She produced four small phone-like objects, and passed one each to the Doctor, John, and Jack. "Personal conference system," she explained.

"High tech walkie-talkies?" Jack asked.

Rose smiled. "Pretty much."

"Sometimes it's nice to know a big-wig in Torchwood," Jack said, tossing his device into the air before catching it and then jogging up the rest of the steps into the building.

"Well," Rose said, hesitating. "Good luck," she said, waving briefly to John and the Doctor before following Jack into the building.

The Doctor looked at John. "She almost kissed you good-bye," he said.

"I know," John answered, making a face.

"She didn't though," the Doctor said. "Good woman, your mum."

"Yeah," John said, and smiled.

"Well. Let's go see that teacher," the Doctor said, leading the way into the building.

***

The Doctor and John walked on for a few minutes in silence, passing beige walls and closed classroom doors. They had just ascended the stairs leading to the second floor when John spoke. The Doctor, who could feel the tension tightly wound in the small boy, knew what John would say before he even opened his mouth.

"Doctor?"

"Hmmm?" the Doctor slowed down, but he didn't stop walking. He felt more than saw John look up at him.

"My mum said. My mum told me . . . she said you're my dad."

The Doctor did stop walking then, and John along with him. The Doctor squatted down so that he and John were on an equal level. "That's because I _am_ your dad," the Doctor said softly.

John regarded the Doctor with a gaze so open that the brown eyes didn't remind him of himself, but of Rose. "Were you surprised?"

"A bit, yeah," the Doctor answered.

"Does it – are you disappointed?"

The Doctor rocked back a bit on his heels, but reached up to put a hand on John's shoulder. "Of course not. Why would I be disappointed?"

"Because. Well. Not everyone wants to be a dad. Mickey's dad didn't."

The Doctor leaned forward, serious and intense. "I'm not Mickey's dad. I'm not like Mickey's dad. I will never be like Mickey's dad."

"You left us."

"I didn't mean to."

"I know. Mum said."

"Your mum was right." The Doctor put his other hand on John's shoulder, so that he was holding the boy. "That was a mistake. But it saved your mum's life, and your life, and I'm very glad Pete did what he did." The Doctor took a deep breath. "John, I promise you, no matter what happens, that I am _not_ sorry that you're here. You are brilliant and amazing, and I knew that even before I found out I was your father. And now that I know that, there will be no power on this world or any other that will stop me from being your dad. Ever. Do you understand?"

John nodded slowly.

"I know this is hard for you," the Doctor said.

"Well," John started. "It's not every day you find your dad. Who's an alien. Which means you're an alien, too."

The Doctor smiled. "We're Time Lords, and I'll tell you as much about that as I can," the Doctor said.

"I like that. Time Lords," John repeated, and the Doctor grinned.

"C'mon. Let's go find Mrs. Fitzgerald before Jack accidentally sets off a fire alarm," the Doctor said, and stood back up.

***

As it turned out, it wasn't that hard to find Mrs. Fitzgerald – she was sitting behind the teacher's desk in her classroom, and it looked like she was marking papers. She looked up when the Doctor and John entered.

"Ah, John Tyler. It's good to see you again, though you are a bit early for school." She smiled, and it looked more than a little forced.

"Hi, Mrs. Fitzgerald. It's good to see that you're back. I hope you're feeling better," John said politely.

"Yes, well. Just a bit of indigestion. Nothing serious."

"Indigestion. Indeed," the Doctor commented.

"I'm sorry – and you are?" Mrs. Fitzgerald turned her gaze upon the Doctor.

"Oh. Me? I'm the Doctor. I think the question here is who, exactly, you are."

"Excuse me?"

The Doctor walked up to the front of the teacher's desk, leaned forward, and sniffed.

Mrs. Fitzgerald recoiled. "If you don't mind, sir –" she started.

"Do you smell that, John? Smells like bad breath."

"I must say, Doctor, whoever you are, that's a rather rude –" Mrs. Fitzgerald said, before the Doctor cut her off.

"Calcium decay," the Doctor explained, and John nodded.

The Doctor straightened up. "And I've smelled that before," he said.

Mrs. Fitzgerald lapsed into silence.

"Raxacoricofallapatorius." The Doctor looked at Mrs. Fitzgerald. "Ringing any bells?" he asked innocently.

Mrs. Fitzgerald, for her part, looked absolutely furious. "Who the hell are you?"

"Temper, temper. There's a child present," the Doctor said.

If anything, that caused Mrs. Fitzgerald to look even more enraged.

"Let me guess – are you a Slitheen, too, or a member of another family?" the Doctor asked.

"You will not sully my family name with your human tongue," Mrs. Fitzgerald spat out.

"Well, not human, me," the Doctor said. "And what is it with your family? Even in multiple dimensions you insist on destroying the Earth. That's just repetitive."

"What do you mean, repetitive?" the Slitheen blurted out.

"This isn't even an original plan," the Doctor continued. "Okay, I'll hand it to you, opening up a dimensional breach is certainly a more subtle way of cooking the planet than starting World War Three, but come on. Other universe, Slitheen family devises plot to reduce Earth to slag to sell off radioactive parts for profit. This universe, Slitheen family devises plot to reduce Earth to slag to sell off burnt parts for profit. Wow. I mean, what are the odds that one alien species, one family, can keep on being that stupid? Is it just you here, or did some of the rest of your family come along? I'm not even interested in how you managed to open up the temporal breach, except that we'll have to close it, of course."

"Doctor?" John said.

"Yes?"

John was looking at Mrs. Fitzgerald, or the skin of the woman who used to be Mrs. Fitzgerald. She looked decidedly murderous. "She looks like. She looks pretty mad."

"Well, of course she is," the Doctor said. "I'm about to foil her plot to end the world." The Doctor tugged his ear. "They tend to get a little testy around this point."

Mrs. Fitzgerald reached up, locating a zip at the top of her head near the hairline. She started to pull it back, letting out an enormous amount of blue light before the skin started to peel away, revealing a slimy green head with two enormous black eyes.

John wrinkled his nose. "Eww," he said.

The Doctor nodded. "Eww. Exactly." He looked at John. "This would be the part where we should start to run."

"Yeah, okay," John said, and before he'd even finished the last word, the Doctor had taken his hand and they were running at near break neck speed back down the hall. They went down the stairs, the sound of monstrous claws on the floor behind them.

They got to the main hall, where Rose was just coming out of the office. She spotted them and started to speak. "Not much news in there. I had no idea these people weren't very bright, or I wouldn't have sent you here –" she broke off, suddenly realizing that the Doctor and John were headed toward her at a speed that was much faster than any normal situation would indicate. This instinct was confirmed when a large green Slitheen appeared in the hallway behind them.

"Doctor!" Rose shouted.

"Yes, yes, I'm on it," he said, grabbing one of Rose's hands with his free one as he passed by, dragging her off in a run down the hall.

"Rose, I need you to call Jack. Tell him to seal off the exits and meet us in the kitchen."

Rose didn't even question, just did as she was told, fishing her walkie-talkie out of her jacket pocket.

"We're headed to the kitchen?" John asked.

"Yep," the Doctor said.

"Well, then we need to turn, 'cause it's that way." John pointed to the right.

"Okay, great. Well done," the Doctor said, skidding, causing Rose to trip as they suddenly changed momentum and direction.

"The kitchen?" Rose asked. "I'm not doing dinner lady duty again," Rose said.

"Hopefully you won't have to," the Doctor answered, bursting through the front door of the kitchen just as Jack came through the back.

"Jack – barricade the doors. Find anything heavy you can," he shouted.

Jack didn't even ask, just did as he was told, as the Doctor let go of Rose and John's hands and helped him start to push furniture.

The Doctor looked at Rose. "Rose, search the cupboards. Any vinegar you can find, or anything with vinegar in it."

Rose nodded, pulling her son with her into the pantry.

A noisy pounding on the door indicated the Slitheen had found them and was trying to break down the door.

"Doctor, should I even ask?" Jack started.

"Give me five minutes, Jack," the Doctor said, just as Rose and John emerged from the pantry. They were carrying two galleons of vinegar and four large jars of pickles.

The Doctor nodded. "That should do it," he said. He opened the bottles of vinegar and nodded at Jack. "Open the door."

"Are you crazy?" Jack asked.

"You want to let the monster in?" John said.

"You usually have to let the monster in to get rid of it," the Doctor answered, picking up the vinegar.

Rose put her hands on John's shoulders from where she was standing behind him. "The Doctor is worth the monsters, John," she whispered, and squeezed gently.

Jack opened the door, and Mrs. Fitzgerald-the-Slitheen barged through, roaring. The Doctor rocked back and then pitched the contents of both bottles of vinegar at her. Suddenly drenched, for a moment all she could do was sputter. Then, rather spectacularly, she exploded, oozing slime and green guts all over the kitchen, as well as the four people in it.

John wiped green slime off his cheek. "Cool!" he exclaimed.

Rose met the Doctor's eyes, and shared his grin.

***

The TARDIS hadn't seen so many people in ages. In addition to the Doctor, Rose, Jack and John, Jackie and Pete had come down, as had Mickey and Jake. She must have been somewhat pleased because the lights in the main room were glowing even brighter than usual, casting gold circles across the floor and ceiling.

"Do you think she was the only one?" Pete was asking.

The Doctor shrugged. "From the size of the breach, I think it was only their first attempt. Probably a bit of an experiment so far, to test the theory, so to speak."

"And once word gets out about her demise, the rest of the family probably won't be sending anyone else any time soon," Jack added.

"But you still have to close the breach," Mickey said.

The Doctor nodded. "Luckily, it's not very large – a relatively young breach. I should have the tools on board to help heal it. I probably won't be able to seal it completely; there will always be a bit of a scar."

"Like the rift in Cardiff," Rose said, and the Doctor nodded.

Pete looked from the Doctor to Rose, and then to John, who was taking apart a piece of equipment, only half-listening to the adult conversation going on around him.

"But once you seal it – won't it suck you back through? Aren't you contaminated?" Pete asked quietly.

The Doctor and Jack exchanged a look. "Yes," the Doctor answered simply. "I could try to seal it so that we could stay in this universe, but the chances of that are slim." The Doctor glanced over at Rose.

"So you'll be leaving again," Jackie said.

The Doctor looked away.

"Mum –" Rose started.

"And I suppose you'll be going with him," Jackie continued. "Take John with you, too, won't you?" Pete went to take her hand, but Jackie shrugged it off. Mickey looked down at the ground.

John looked up at the sound of his name, curious.

Jack looked at the Doctor and Rose, then called out to John. "Hey, kid. You want to see more of the ship? There's even a game room."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Jack said, standing.

"Can I, Mum?" John asked, putting the part he was fiddling with back together again.

"Of course," Rose answered. "Just stick close to Jack."

"Sure!" John said, following as Jack lead the way out of the main console room.

"Mum," Rose began again.

"So we'll never see you again? Or John?"

Before Rose could answer, Pete interrupted. "We could go with them, you know," he said quietly.

The Doctor looked up as Jackie turned to face her husband. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean, we could go with them. As long as we were in the TARDIS, we'd get sucked back through the breach, too. Wouldn't we?" Pete asked.

The Doctor looked thoughtful. "Probably. I think the contamination is tied to the TARDIS, not to us individually."

"So, if Rose and John go, we could go, too," Pete said.

"But – it'd be like starting over. For you. We have no money, no home," Jackie said.

"We could get those things. We'd have each other. And our family."

"Pete," Jackie said.

Pete smiled. "Jacks. My daft schemes worked well enough over here. One of them is bound to catch on in your London," he said.

Jackie looked at Rose. "Rose, sweetheart –"

"I think it's up to you and Dad," Rose answered the unspoken question.

"I'd probably have to work in a shop again," Jackie said. "But I could do that." She took Pete's hand.

"Let's go pack then, love," Pete said. "And besides, I bet I could empty a bank account or two before we lift off." He winked.

The Doctor nodded at them. "We'll be here when you get back," he said softly.

Jake looked at Mickey. "We should probably go pack, too," he said.

"What?" Mickey asked.

"Well. Your gran has passed on. There's no separating you from Rose, or the Tylers. And there's no separating me from you. So – that's the way it's gotta be." Jake smiled.

Mickey looked at Rose, and she winked.

"Fine," Mickey said. "But you're not bringing that awful flannel robe you have."

"What's wrong with my robe?" Jake asked.

Mickey rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. First of all, that hole in the –"

"That's quite enough, thanks." The Doctor held up his hand. "I can only do so much domestic. Now get packing or we won't be here when _you_ come back."

Mickey made a face at the Doctor, but Jake only laughed. "Fine," Jake said, once again pulling Mickey along with him out the door.

For a moment there was only silence as Rose regarded the Doctor from across the console.

"What?" he finally asked.

Rose got up from her seat and walked over to the Doctor, coming to stand just inches in front of him. She tilted her head.

"You're the one who said it. It's about to get awfully domestic in here."

"Aw. Nah. We'll be rid of your family and Mickey the Idiot soon enough."

Rose raised her eyebrow. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"I know," the Doctor said.

"You never did ask if John and I were going to come along. Everyone just assumed."

The Doctor looked at her, and suddenly Rose saw a terrible vulnerability in his eyes.

"Did we assume wrong?" he asked.

Rose shook her head. "Not necessarily. I just. I'm not sure I'm thrilled about the idea of my son getting involved in all that trouble."

The Doctor smiled. "The trouble's just the bits in between," he said.

Rose smiled lopsidedly. "Still," she said.

"This is – his heritage, Rose. He's a Time Lord, or part Time Lord, anyway. He should know all about this."

"I know," Rose said softly. "I just wanted to make sure you did."

"You've become very wise, Rose Tyler."

"A kid will do that to you," Rose said. "Fast."

"I'm sure," the Doctor said. "Rose – "

"Yeah?"

"It's my duty, and my honor, to love John and protect him for the rest of my life, with my life," the Doctor said. "Do you understand that?"

Rose blinked back tears. "I do. That's my responsibility, too."

The Doctor's gaze searched her face. "I won't leave you two again."

Rose shook her head. "Please don't make promises you can't keep."

"I'm not."

"Doctor –"

"I'll do my best, Rose Tyler."

Rose softened. "Okay."

"You understand?"

"Yes," she said.

The Doctor reached out, his hand trembling slightly, and brushed some stray hair off of Rose's cheek and behind her ear. "How long are you going to travel with me?"

"Forever," Rose whispered as the Doctor leaned in close.

"If this is my last chance, then. Or my first. Rose Tyler," the Doctor said softly. "I love you."

"Quite right to," Rose said, just before the Doctor kissed her, taking her breath away.


End file.
